Rural VS. Urban Society
Rural Agricultural Small towns and farms Conservative Values Strong links to family and
church Church set moral
standards Farmers suffer
financially… Why?
Urban People begin to move
into cities in the 1920s N.Y. = 5.6 million Chicago= 3 million Why did cities grow so
quickly? Freedom from families
and church leads to what?
The Harlem Renaissance and the Jazz Age
Where had African Americans moved during and after WWI? Why?
Harlem 1920s: Population grows from 152,000 to 330,000 Overcrowding, unemployment, and poverty are eclipsed by
the rich cultural movement known as the Harlem Renaissance.
Jazz is born in the early 20th century in New Orleans
Joe Oliver and his Creole Jazz band move north and bring jazz with them
Trumpet player Louis Armstrong is part of the band and will become the most important and influential musician in the history of jazz.
Harlem Renaissance is above all a literary movement
Writers express pride in their African American culture and heritage
Langston Hughes is the movement’s best known poet
His poems often move to the tempo of jazz or the blues.
Louis Armstrong
Langston Hughes
“ I, Too, Sing America” by Langston Hughes
I, too, sing America.
I am the darker brother. They send me to eat in the kitchen When company comes, But I laugh, And eat well, And grow strong.
Tomorrow, I'll be at the table When company comes. Nobody'll dare Say to me, "Eat in the kitchen," Then.
Besides, They'll see how beautiful I am And be ashamed--
I, too, am America.
Women in the 1920s
In the rebellious, pleasure loving air of the 1920s, many women begin to assert their independence. What rights do women have before the 1920s?
A New Life for Women
The flapper: emancipated woman who embraced new fashions and urban attitudes
Women get new job opportunities
Society begins to view marriage as more of an equal partnership
The 19th Amendment is ratified in 1920
American Society
Schools From 1914 to 1926: Enrollment goes from 1
million to 4 million Began to focus on college prep Had to meet needs of growing immigrant students
Expanding news coverage Literacy is increased by widespread education Radio comes of age
New Heroes
More money and leisure time= need for entertainment Sports
Babe Ruth becomes known as the Sultan of Swat Jack Dempsey reigns supreme in the boxing ring Red Grange (a.k.a. The Galloping Ghost) and Knute
Rockne’s Fighting Irish make college football popular Gertrude Ederle becomes the first woman to swim
across the English Channel
Movies, Theater and More
Films: By 1925, movies are America’s 4th largest industry Charlie Chaplin, Clara Bow, and Rudolph
Valentino rise to stardom in silent movies 1927 The Jazz Singer- America’s first film with
sound 1928 Steamboat Willie
George Gershwin establishes himself as America’s foremost modern composer
Painter Georgia O’Keefe begins her career F. Scott Fitzgerald writes about the life of the
wealthy, while Ernest Hemingway condemns the glorification of war.